The Best Foods to Try in China: A Regional Chinese Food Guide
China is one of the world’s great food destinations, but with so many regional cuisines, local specialities, and street food favourites, knowing where to begin can feel overwhelming. From fiery Sichuan hotpot and hand-pulled noodles to delicate baozi and famous Peking duck, every city offers dishes shaped by centuries of history, trade, and tradition.
Inspired by destinations featured on our new collection of China tours, we’ve highlighted some of the best foods to try in China, alongside the stories, legends, and regional influences behind them. Whether you’re exploring the bustling hutongs of Beijing, the spice-filled streets of Chengdu, or the night markets of Guiyang, these are the dishes that deserve a place on your itinerary.
Perfect for adventurous food lovers and curious travellers alike, these tours offer the chance to experience authentic Chinese cuisine at its source — from legendary street food snacks to regional dishes you may never have encountered before.
Traditional Dishes to Try in Beijing
PEKING DUCK
Needs no introduction. While you might be familiar with the pancake style of eating Peking duck — placing slices of duck onto a thin steamed pancake with sweet bean, or hoisin, sauce, fresh cucumber and spring onion, then wrapping it all into a delicate little roll — before that, the crispy skin is carved up by the chef and, in Beijing, traditionally dipped into sugar, creating a savoury-sweet, melt-in-your-mouth combination.
BREAKFAST HUTONG TOUR
A food tour is the perfect way to sample some of the best local dishes with the help of an expert foodie, and on this breakfast tour around the neighbourhood of Hutong, you can get a taste of popular local breakfast food such as:
Youtiao, a long, deep-fried strip of dough made with wheat flour, a popular breakfast food in Beijing, best eaten hot and fresh, so it’s crispy on the outside and airy on the inside
Jianbing, thin crêpes with toppings. Fried wonton strips offer a satisfying crunch, while hoisin or chilli sauces offer sweetness and heat, then filled with a fried egg and a smattering of coriander, spring onion, and pickles add some extra layers to the flavour. In Beijing, you’ll also find them made with Youtiao, known locally as ‘guozi.’
What to Eat in Xi’an
ROUJIAMO
A signature street food often referred to as the Chinese hamburger — and, as it was first made around 2,500 years ago, perhaps the world’s first — braised beef or lamb, usually cooked with cumin and peppers, is stuffed into a crispy wheat ‘bun’ characterised by flaky layers. There are different variations: traditionally, the bread was baked in a clay oven, though these days it is more often fried, and outside the Muslim quarter you are more likely to find pork variations. Regardless, it remains a favourite street food.
PAOMO SOUP
This dish reflects Xi’an’s famous Silk Road heritage by blending warming Chinese aromatics (ginger, star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, tsaoko, cinnamon) to create a delicious broth, with lamb (a deeply Central Asian meat) and an unleavened flatbread (mo) which is griddled and shredded to immerse in the soup, with optional rice noodles. Topped with pickled garlic, coriander, and chilli paste or oil this is a hearty, legendary speciality of the region.
PULLED NOODLES
Anyone who has watched the process of hand-pulled noodles can attest to just how hypnotic it can be! Also called ‘Biang Biang’ noodles, named after the sound they make as they’re slapped against the table which acts as a way to wake up the gluten! These mouthwatering thick noodles are doused in chilli, vinegar, garlic and Sichuan peppers, topped with spring onions. Simple, but unforgettable.
Best Food in Chengdu, Sichuan
SICHUAN HOT POT
The origin of the Sichuan hot pot comes from the Yangtze River during the Qing Dynasty, where poor boatmen would stop off to fire up a clay pot, add any leftover food and spices, including Sichuan peppers, to dispel dampness and warm up the body, before continuing their journey. Eventually, this warm meal came to a restaurant where there was more customisation, and it became the delicious, rolling hot pot we know today. More places offer a pot with a divider in the middle so one side can have the fiery Sichuan broth and a mild, soothing broth on the other side to balance out the spiciness. The broth is at a consistent boil, so the group can enjoy cooking their own meat and vegetables.
KUNG PAO CHICKEN
Another meal with Qing Dynasty origin, the Kung Pao Chicken is considered a classic Sichuan dish, although its exact origins remain disputed. What everyone can agree on, though, is that the dish is linked to Ding Baozhen, a palace guardian during the Qing dynasty. Ding was known for his love of stir-fried chicken and was the meal that he would always make for guests. Diced chicken is made with marinade, stir-fried with peanuts, vegetables, and of course, Sichuan peppers.
TWICE-COOKED PORK
A classic Sichuan dish that must be tried in the capital of Chengdu — the first city in Asia to be named a UNESCO City of Gastronomy — twice-cooked pork is not just a clever name. Pork belly is gently simmered with spices to render the fat and firm up the meat before being cooled and thinly sliced, allowing it to absorb all the flavours of the dish. Then comes round two: the pork is stir-fried until the edges crisp up, alongside vegetables, traditionally garlic sprouts, though sometimes leeks, peppers or onion, and a rich fermented chilli bean paste from Pixian, a district near Chengdu.
What to Eat in Chongqing
CHONGQING HOT POT
Chongqing hotpot is also known as “spicy” or “mala” hotpot, and it certainly lives up to its name. One of the spiciest types of hotpot you’ll come across in China, its intense heat comes largely from the numbing effect of the signature ingredients: Sichuan peppercorns and dried chillies. Beef tallow, which adds savoury depth, forms the base of the broth alongside garlic and fermented bean paste. The ingredients cooked in the hotpot can vary widely and, reflecting its origins as a workers’ meal during the Qing Dynasty, may include offal alongside a range of meats and vegetables.
What to Eat in Yangshuo
BEER FISH
One of Guilin’s best known specialties from the banks of the Li River is made with freshwater carp, cooked whole just as it was caught. A local beer is used in place of rice wine to mask the earthy flavour of the river fish and although the beer flavour itself is not particularly strong, when combined with tomatoes and peppers, its malty sweetness adds depth to the rich, slightly sour broth.
Must-Try Foods in Guiyang
GUOBA CIBA
A signature street food dessert and a true textural sensation, guoba ciba is made from sticky glutinous rice dough pressed thin against a hot pan. While the outside crisps up, the mochi-like rice in the middle stays soft and chewy, ready to be filled with sweet, savoury, or even mixed flavours. Common fillings include sugar, chilli, sesame seeds, and peanut powder.
BAOZI
Perhaps better known simply as “bao,” these soft, pillowy steamed buns are made from wheat flour and come with a variety of fillings, such as char siu (barbecued pork). Originally called mantou, according to legend, during the Song Dynasty, they were invented as a substitute for human heads offered as sacrifices to the gods. Today, mantou are typically unfilled, while baozi contain fillings.
CHANGWANG NOODLES
A popular noodle soup in Guiyang, its most notorious ingredients being intestines and blood curd (maybe pork or duck), as well as handmade egg noodles, chilli oil, tofu, bean sprouts, and a crispy pork topping for an aromatic and umami-rich finish. Also dating back to the Qing Dynasty, it was first created by street vendors offering a quick breakfast meal and is now a signature breakfast of Guiyang.
Kunming’s Signature Dish
CROSSING-THE-BRIDGE NOODLES
Designated a Kunming Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008, this signature Yunnan dish originated in Mengzi and comes with a legend as heartwarming as its rich chicken and bone broth. The story goes that a wife would bring dinner each evening to her scholar husband while he secluded himself on an island to study. However, by the time she arrived, the soup had gone cold and the noodles soggy. To solve the problem, she began carrying the ingredients separately and sealed the hot broth beneath a layer of chicken fat to retain the heat.
Today, the dish is still served in much the same way, with diners adding the ingredients in order of cooking time: first the raw meat and eggs, then the vegetables, and finally the noodles.
China’s regional cuisine is as diverse as its landscapes, with every province offering its own flavours, ingredients and cooking traditions. Whether you’re sampling spicy hotpot in Chongqing, street food in Xi’an or comforting noodle dishes in Yunnan, travelling through China is as much about discovering its food culture as its landmarks.
